A LEADING retailer has warned customers of a “hoax” voucher that has been doing the rounds on social media.

A ‘40pc off’ coupon for Aldi Ireland is purportedly being offered by a website, Coupons for Christmas.

Aldi confirmed this weekend that the voucher is a scam and asked customers not to click on the link.

The voucher, which includes the German company’s logo, says it expires on December 31.

Included in the small print is a statement to say that there are “no rain checks” on the voucher, though it is not clear what this refers to.

Fraudulent

In a statement on its Facebook page this weekend, Aldi alerted shoppers to the scam.

“We have been notified that there is a hoax 40pc off Aldi coupon being circulated. This post is fraudulent and cannot be redeemed in our stores,” the supermarket giant said.

A similar statement was posted on the group’s UK social media page to warn customers there about the hoax.

The post has been widely shared online but it is not known if any customers attempted to redeem it in Irish stores.

The site which claims to be offering the free vouchers, couponsforchristmas.com, was registered as a domain name on December 18 in Panama.

“We would always say that people should look at legitimate sources for these types of offers and online voucher schemes and to make sure they’re real before they go ahead and commit anything,

particularly if they have to give across any personal data,” a spokeswoman for Retail Excellence Ireland said.

“We would highly recommend that people do that across all areas of their shopping online.

“It’s important that people remain vigilant because if we stop doing it [handing over personal data] then these guys will stop trying to get that information from us. It’s something we all need to be on our toes about,” she said.

The spokeswoman added that many Irish stores, including Aldi, are offering good-value offers that are legitimate.